


First Christmas

by Freckles_From_Brooklyn



Series: Newsies OC Week [1]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Christmas fic, Crutchie knits things, Fluffy, based on Newsies live, newsies oc week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21924667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freckles_From_Brooklyn/pseuds/Freckles_From_Brooklyn
Summary: Someone comes knocking at the lodging house door as the boys are celebrating Christmas.
Series: Newsies OC Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579027
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	First Christmas

Christmas in the Manhattan lodging house was a raucous affair. Jojo, who was the only one who really cared about the religious side of Christmas, would go to church while the others roamed the streets in case random passersby were feeling particularly generous. Miss Medda would usually give them some food, and they’d all gather in the common room of the lodging house, eating and laughing, exchanging gifts that they’d made, stolen, or bought with their meager pocket money. One year, as these festivities were happening, there was a knock on the lodging house door. Jack, the leader, went to open it. Shivering on the doorstep was a small girl, maybe nine or ten years old. She wore a striped red tank top, her skin and lips tinged with blue. 

“P-please, sir,” she said, her teeth chattering. “C-can I c-come in?”

“‘Course,” Jack said. “We got blankets in here, an’ food an’ plenty a cocoa.” he led the girl into the common room and sat her down on a couch, draping a blanket over her shoulders. “Where’re ya from?” he asked. 

“Brooklyn,” the girl replied, keenly aware that all eyes were on her.

“Brooklyn?” Jack repeated. The girl nodded. “Youse a long way from home. What brings ya here?”

“My ma an’ pa died a couple days ago, an’ me an’ my brother were takin’ bread outta the bins behind a bakery so we could eat, but a bull caught us an’ we got separated runnin’ away.”

“You gotta name, kiddo?” jack asked. 

“Thalia,” the girl replied. 

“Well, thalia, how’d you like to live with us?” Jack offered. “There’s plenty a room, an’ you could make some money sellin’ papes.” Thalia blinked in surprise. 

“Oh! Sure?” she said. 

“Great! Welcome aboard, Freckles!” Jack said cheerfully.

“Freckles?” Thalia asked. 

“Most of us have nicknames,” Jack explained. “Makes life more interesting. You gotta lotta Freckles, so youse Freckles. I’m Jack.”

“I have somethin’ for ya,” Crutchie said. “I’m Crutchie, by the way!” he got up and limped upstairs, returning with a red scarf and a pair of socks striped with blue, pink, and purple. “I jus’ finished knittin’ these the other day, an’ I didn’t have anyone to give ‘em to, so they’s yours!”

“An’ here,” a newsie named Roach said, handing her a grey wool coat. “I just got a new coat, an’ my old one should fit you just fine.”

“Thank you,” Freckles said, looking up into Roach’s warm brown eyes. Roach grinned at her. 

“I’m Roach, by the way,” they said. 

“Nice to meet you,” Freckles replied politely. That night, Freckles curled up in the bunk above Roach’s, warm and safe. She had a family again.


End file.
